Egypt Removed from UK COVID-19 ‘Red List’

Egypt will no longer be on the United Kingdom’s COVID-19 ‘red list’ as of 4 a.m. on Wednesday, 22 September, meaning that there will no longer be a self-financed, 10-day mandated hotel quarantine for those traveling from Egypt to England.

The change was announced on 17 September on the British government’s online guide to its COVID-19 travel regulations, explaining that Egypt will move to the less strict ‘amber list.’ Travelers coming from ‘amber list’ countries must take a PCR test in the three days prior to their trip to England, book and pay a further PCR test to be taken on upon their arrival in England, and complete a passenger locator form.

Travelers who are not vaccinated under the UK government-sanctioned programs must complete a 10-day at-home quarantine and take a further PCR test on or after the eighth day of their quarantine. This includes those vaccinated within the Egyptian government’s vaccine rollout.

Egypt was initially placed on the UK’s ‘red list’ on 8 June, with the justification that the country’s “COVID-19 prevalence is assessed to be high and there is evidence to suggest community transmission of variants of concern.”

Egypt’s status on the ‘red list’ caused a financial strain on those who had to travel to the UK from Egypt with the UK government charging up to GBP 2285 (approximately EGP 50,000), but it had also begun to affect Egypt’s economy as a whole. In August, the World Travel Tourism Council (WTTC) revealed that the situation was posing a serious threat to the country’s travel and tourism sector, highlighting that the economy could face daily losses of more than EGP 31 million if it continued to be on the ‘red list.’